Supernatural: "Weekend at Bobby's"Review

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Newsflash: Dean and Sam are not the center of the universe!

By Diana Steenbergen

"Weekend at Bobby's" is a first for Supernatural as series co-star Jensen Ackles directs an episode that focuses on the character of Bobby, with the Winchester brothers appearing only for a few minutes. Ackles does a great job as director, letting the tale of Bobby's quest to regain his soul from Crowley unfold in Supernatural's trademark sad, yet amusing, way.

It is odd for an episode to have so little time with Dean and Sam, but since the show has recurring characters that are more than able to pick up any slack, it works. Jim Beaver and Steven Williams are fantastic as crotchety older hunters Bobby and Rufus, bringing a sense of history to their relationship that begs for a prequel or spinoff series of their own. Adding Mark Sheppard into the mix, with his smarmy Crowley just makes things that much better. I especially love Crowley's shorthand version of how he thinks a conversation with Bobby is going to go, including his impersonation of Bobby with an "idjit" thrown in for good measure.

The first half of the episode takes the time to show the audience how hard Bobby works behind the scenes, and how annoying it is to be at everyone's beck and call. He juggles calls from Dean, Rufus showing up with a not-quite-dead body, and a half dozen phone lines set up to back up the alibis of various hunters posing as government agents. Poor Bobby doesn't even have time to enjoy the cobbler his flirty neighbor drops off. Even sadder, when he saves the flirty neighbor from Rufus's escaped monster, she is too disturbed at being splattered by the remains of the monster going through her wood chipper (and all over herself), that she rescinds her offer to cook Bobby dinner. Now that is just rude, he saved her from the monster! I would say he deserves dinner more than ever.

It is when Bobby cracks from the pressure and gives Dean and Sam a deserved lecture about how much he does for everyone that the rest of the characters join us in focusing on Bobby's situation. It is a relief to see Rufus, the town sheriff, and Dean and Sam come through for Bobby for a change, rather than him supporting them.

One question I have about the storyline involves demons and their bones. If it is true that finding a demon's human remains is a way to kill them, why don't all demons secure their bones first thing? It seems like that would be the first job on the list once a demon makes it back to the world. Crowley is smart; he is always two steps ahead of everyone else, so even if it was just a rumor that his bones could be used against him, he should have thought to remove the possibility. On the positive side, the mission to Scotland gets the Winchesters out of the United States for a change, as they trek across the Atlantic to dig up Crowley's human grave. Usually the demons and monsters Dean and Sam face are courteous enough to travel to the US before starting their mayhem, so this is a noteworthy excursion.

While Dean and Sam are not in the episode much, the scenes they do appear in are used well. Dean's phone call to Bobby expressing his worry over whether Sam has been changed by his trip to hell keeps that storyline present in our minds. And the funniest part of the episode just might be seeing Dean and Sam crammed into a tiny European car, Sam ducking so that his head doesn't go through the roof.